Damascus

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a sack full of blood; the similitude of burning
Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary


DAMASCUS
1. Situation, etc.—The chief city of N. Syria, situated in lat. 33° 30′ N. and long. 36° 18′ E. It lies in a plain east of the Anti-Lebanon, famous for its beauty and fertility, and watered by the Barada River, the Abanah (wh. see) of the Bible. The luxuriance of its gardens has long been renowned: the English traveller W. G. Browne in 1797 noted that the fruit-trees were so numerous that those which died and were cut down were sufficient to supply the town with firewood. Its population is estimated at from 150,000 to 220,000. It derives its modern importance from local manufactures (woodwork, furniture, artistic metal and textile work), from its situation and convenience as a market for the desert tribes, and from its religious significance as the starting-point of the annual Syrian pilgrim caravan to Mecca. Railways run from Damascus to Haifa, Beyrout, and Mezerîb, and the important line to Mecca, begun in 1901, is expected to be finished in 1910. The writer of Canticles, in his appreciation of the sensuous beauty of scenery, has not forgotten Damascus: the nose of the Shulammite is compared to the ‘tower of Lebanon which looketh toward Damascus’ (Son_7:4).
The history of Damascus begins in remote antiquity: the time of its foundation is quite unknown; but that a settlement should have been founded in so desirable a locality was inevitable from the very beginning of human association. It was probably already an ancient city at the time of the Tell el-Amarna tablets, on which we meet with its name more than once. It also appears in the tribute lists of Thothmes III. as Demesku.
2. OT references.—In the Biblical history we first meet with the name of Damascus as a territorial indication in defining the line of Abram’s pursuit of the five kings (Gen_14:15). In Gen_15:2 the name of Abram’s steward is given in the MT [Note: Massoretic Text.] as Dammesek Eliezer (so RV [Note: Revised Version.] )—a name probably corrupt. It is explained in the Aram. [Note: Aramaic.] , Targum, and Syr. as ‘Eliezer the Damascene,’ which gives sense, though it presupposes a most improbable corruption in the Hebrew text. We must therefore pass this passage by with the remark that it is not unlikely that Abram’s servant was a native of Damascus. We hear nothing more of Damascus till 2Sa_8:5-6, which describes David’s capture of the city as a reprisal for its assistance given to Hadadezer, king of Zobah; David garrisoned it and reduced it to a tributary condition (cf. 1Ch_18:5). The general of Hadadezer, however, Rezon by name, succeeded in establishing himself as king in Damascus in the time of Solomon, and made himself continuously a very troublesome neighbour (1Ki_11:23-24). In the wars between Asa and Baasha (1Ki_15:17 ff., 2Ch_16:2 ff.) the king of Judah invoked the aid of Ben-hadad, king of Syria, whose royal city was Damascus, against his Israelite enemy. By gifts he persuaded him to break the truce already existing between Ben-hadad and Israel, and to join partnership with Judah. Accordingly Ben-hadad proceeded to harass Baasha on his northern borders, and so induced him to desist from his plan of erecting border fortifications between the two Hebrew kingdoms. Hostilities continued between Syria and Israel till the days of Ahab: Ahab’s sparing of Ben-hadad after the battle of Aphek and his making a truce with him, were the cause of a prophetic denunciation (1Ki_20:42). In the reign of Jehoram, the Syrian general Naaman came to be cleansed of leprosy (2Ki_5:1-27), and Elisha’s directions led to his famous depreciating comparison of the muddy Jordan with the clear-flowing Abanah and Pharpar (v. 12). The Chronicler (2Ch_24:23) reports a victorious invasion of Judah by Damascus in the days of Joash. The city of Damascus was re-taken by Jeroboam II. (2Ki_14:28), though the circumstances are not related; but must have been lost again immediately, for we find the Syrian king Rezin there (2Ki_16:1-20) oppressing Ahaz, so that he was led to the policy, which (as Isaiah foresaw, Isa_7:1-25; Isa_10:5-11) proved suicidal, of calling in the aid of Tiglath-pileser, king of Assyria, and submitting himself as a vassal of that great king. Prophetic denunciations of Damascus, as of the other enemies of the Hebrews, are found in Isa_17:1-14, Jer_49:23, Amo_1:3-5, and Zec_9:1. Damascus as a commercial centre was always of great importance, and Ezekiel (Eze_27:18) alludes to its trade in vines and wool. It is, of course, included in the imaginary restoration of the kingdom (Eze_47:17).
3. NT references.—Damascus appears only in connexion with St. Paul. Here took place his miraculous conversion (Act_9:1-43; Act_22:1-30; Act_26:1-32) with the well-known attendant circumstances, and his escape from Aretas (wh. see), the governor, by being lowered in a basket over the wall (Act_9:25, 2Co_11:32-33), and hither he returned after his Arabian retirement (Gal_1:17).
4. Later history.—The late extra-Biblical history is very complicated. In 333 b.c., after the battle of Issus, the city was surrendered to Parmenio, the general of Alexander the Great, and during the subsequent Græco-Egyptian wars it fell more than once into the hands of the Ptolemys. In 111 b.c., on the partition of Syria between Antiochus Grypus and A. Cyzicenus, the latter obtained possession of the city. His successor, Demetrius Eucærus, invaded Palestine in 88 b.c. and defeated Alexander Jannæus at Shechem. His brother, who succeeded him, was driven out by the Arabian Haritha (Aretas). For a while it remained in Arab hands, then, after a temporary occupation by Tigranes, king of Armenia, it was conquered by Metellus, the Roman general. It was a city of the Decapolis. The great temple of the city was by one of the early Christian emperors—probably Theodosius—transformed into a church. It is now the principal mosque of the city, but was partly destroyed by fire in 1893. Since 635 Damascus has been a Muslim city, though governed from time to time by different tribes and dynasties of that faith. It was conquered by the Seljuks in 1075. The Crusaders never succeeded in making a strong position for themselves in the city. In 1860 about 6000 Christians were massacred by the Muslim population of the city. Few remains of antiquity are to be seen in the modern city, which is attractive principally for its undiluted Oriental life and its extensive markets and bazaars. The mosque just mentioned, a mediæval castle, and part of the ancient walls, are the principal relics. Of course, there are the usual traditional sites of historical events, but these are not more trustworthy at Damascus than anywhere else in Syria and Palestine.
R. A. S. Macalister.
Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible
Edited by James Hastings, D.D. Published in 1909

The most ancient city of Syria, at the foot of the S.E. range of Antilibanus, which rises 1,500 ft. above the plain of Damascus, which is itself 2,200 above the sea. Hence, Damascus enjoys a temperate climate cooled by breezes. The plain is a circle of 30 miles diameter, watered by the Barada (the ABANA of 2 Kings 5), which bursts through a narrow cleft in the mountain into the country beneath, pouring fertility on every side. This strikes the eye the more, as bareness and barrenness characterize all the hills and the plain outside. Fruit of various kinds, especially olive trees, grain and grass abound within the Damascus plain. The Barada flows through Damascus, and thence eastward 15 miles, when it divides and one stream falls into lake el Kiblijeh: another into lake esh-Shurkijeh, on the border of the desert. The wady Helbon on the N. and Awaj on the S. also water the plain.
The Awaj is probably the scriptural PHARPAR. First mentioned in Gen_14:15; Gen_15:2. Abraham entering Canaan by way of Damascus there obtained Eliezer as his retainer. Josephus makes Damascus to have been founded by Uz, son of Aram, grandson of Shem. The next Scriptural notice of Damascus is 2Sa_8:5, when "the Syrians of Damascus succored Hadadezer king of Zobah" against David. David slew 22,000 Syrians, and "put garrisons in Syria of Damascus, and the Syrians became servants to David and brought gifts" (1Ch_18:3-6). Nicholaus of Damascus says Hadad (so he named him) reigned over "all Syria except Phoenicia," and began the war by attacking David, and was defeated in a last engagement at the Euphrates River. His subject Rezon, who escaped when David conquered Zobah, with the help of a band made himself king at Damascus over Syria (1Ki_11:23-25), and was an adversary to Israel all the days of Solomon.
Hadad's family recovered the throne; or else (See BENHADAD I, who helped Baasha against Asa and afterward Asa against Baasha, was grandson of Rezon. He "made himself streets" in Samaria (1Ki_20:34), so completely was he Israel's master. His son, Benhadad II, who besieged Ahab (1Ki_20:1), is the Ben-idri of the Assyrian inscriptions. These state that in spite of his having the help of the Phoenicians, Hittites and Hamathites, he was unable to oppose Assyria, which slew 20,000 of his men in just one battle. Hazael, taking advantage of his subjects' disaffection owing to their defeats, murdered Benhadad (2Ki_8:10-15; 1Ki_19:15). Hazael was defeated by Assyria in his turn, with great loss, at Antilibanus; but repulsed Ahaziah's and Jehoram's attack on Israel (2Ki_8:28), ravaged Gilead, the land of Gad, Reuben, and Manasseh (2Ki_10:32-33); took also Gath, and was only diverted from Jerusalem by Jehoash giving the royal and the temple treasures (2Ki_12:17-18). (See HAZAEL.)
Benhadad his son continued to exercise a lordship over Israel (2Ki_13:3-7; 2Ki_13:22) at first; but Joash, Jehoahaz' son, beat him thrice, according to Elisha's dying prophecy (2Ki_13:14-19), for "the Lord had compassion on His people ... because of His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, neither east He them from His presence us yet" (2Ki_13:23). Jeroboam II, Joash's son, further "recovered Damascus and Hamath, which belonged to Judah, for Israel ... according to the word of the Lord ... by Jonah the prophet" (2Ki_14:23-28), 836 B.C. Rezin of Damascus, a century later, in a respite from the Assyrian invasions, allied himself to Pekah of Israel against Judah, with a view to depose Ahaz and set up one designated "the son of Tabeal." (See AHAZ.) The successive invasions of Pul and Tiglath Pileser suggested the thought of combining Syria, Israel, and Judah as a joint power against Assyria. Ahaz' leaning to Assyria made him obnoxious to Syria and Israel.
But, as their counsel was contrary to God's counsel that David's royal line should continue until Immanuel, it came to nought (2Ki_15:19; 2Ki_15:29; 2Ki_15:57; 2Ki_16:5; Isa_7:1-6). Elath on the shore of the Red Sea, in Edom, built by Azariah of Judah on territory alleged to be Syrian, was "recovered" by Rezin. Whereupon Ahaz begged Assyria's alliance; and the very policy of Damascus and Israel against Assyria, namely, to absorb Judah, was the very means of causing their own complete absorption by Assyria (2Ki_16:6-9; 2Ki_16:17; Isa_7:14-25; Isa_8:6-10; Isa_10:9). The people of Damascus were carried captive to Kir, as Amos (Amo_1:5) foretold, the region from which they originally came, associated with Elam (Isa_22:6), probably in Lower Mesopotamia = Kish or Cush, i.e. eastern Ethiopia, the Cissia of Herodotus (G. Rawlinson).
Isaiah (Isa_17:1) and Amos (Amo_1:4) had prophesied that Damascus should be "taken away from being a city, and should be a ruinous heap," that Jehovah should "send a fire into the house of Hazael, which should devour the palaces of Benhadad"; and Jeremiah (Jer_49:24-25) that "Damascus is waxed feeble .... How is the city of praise not left, the city of my joy!" By the time of the Mede-Persian supremacy Damascus had not only been rebuilt, but was the most famous city in Syria (Strabo, 16:2,19). In Paul's time (2Co_11:32) it was part of (See ARETAS' (see) kingdom. It is still a city of 150,000 inhabitants, of whom about 130,000 are Mahometans, 15,000 Christians, and about 5,000 Jews. Damascus was the center through which the trade of Tyre passed on its way to Assyria, Palmyra, Babylon, and the East.
It supplied "white wool and the wine of Helbon" (in Antilebanon, 10 miles N.W. of Damascus) in return for "the wares of Tyre's making" (Eze_27:18). Its once famous damask and steel were not manufactured until Mahometan times, and are no longer renowned. The street called "Straight" is still there, leading from one gate to the pasha's palace, i.e. from E. to W. a mile long; it was originally divided by Corinthian colonnades into three avenues, of which the remains are still traced (Act_9:11); called by the natives "the street of bazaars." The traditional localities of Act_9:3; Act_9:25; 2Co_11:33 (Paul's conversion on his way to Damascus, and his subsequent escape in a basket let down from the wall) are more than doubtful. Now es-Sham, "The East." Magnus was its bishop at the council of Nice, A.D. 325. The khalif Omar A.D. 635 took it. It fell into the hands of the Turks, its present masters, under Selim I, A.D. 1516.
Fausset's Bible Dictionary
By Andrew Robert Fausset, co-Author of Jamieson, Fausset and Brown's 1888.

Damas'cus. One of the most ancient and most important of the cities of Syria. It is situated 130 miles northeast of Jerusalem, in a plain of vast size and of extreme fertility, which lies east of the great chain of Anti-Libanus, on the edge of the desert. This fertile plain, which is nearly circular and about 30 miles in diameter, is due to the river Barada, which is probably the "Abana" of Scripture. Two other streams, the Wady Helbon upon the north and the Awaj, which flows direct from Hermon upon the south, increase the fertility of the Damascene plain, and contend for the honor of representing the "Pharpar" of Scripture.
According to Josephus, Damascus was founded by Uz, grandson of Shem. It is first mentioned, in Scripture, in connection with Abraham, Gen_14:15, whose steward was a native of the place. Gen_15:2. At one time, David became complete master of the whole territory, which he garrisoned with Israelites. 2Sa_8:5-6. It was in league with Baasha, king of Israel against Asa, 1Ki_15:19; 2Ch_16:3, and afterwards in league with Asa against Baasha. 1Ki_15:20. Under Ahaz, it was taken by Tiglath-pileser, 2Ki_16:7-9, the kingdom of Damascus brought to an end, and the city itself destroyed, the inhabitants being carried captive into Assyria. 2Ki_16:9. Compare Isa_7:8 and Amo_1:5.
Afterwards, it passed successively under the dominion of the Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Macedonians, Romans and Saracens, and was, at last, captured by the Turks, in 1516 A.D. Here, the apostle Paul was converted and preached the gospel. Act_9:1-25. Damascus has always been a great centre for trade. Its present population is from 100,000 to 150,000. It has a delightful climate. Certain localities are shown as the site of those scriptural events which specially interest us in its history. Queen's Street, which runs straight through the city from east to west, may be the street called Straight. Act_9:11. The house of Judas and that of Ananias are shown, but little confidence can be placed in any of these traditions.
Smith's Bible Dictionary
By Dr. William Smith.Published in 1863

a celebrated city of Asia, and anciently the capital of Syria, may be accounted one of the most venerable places in the world for its antiquity. It is supposed to have been founded by Ux, the son of Aram; and is, at least, known to have subsisted in the time of Abraham, Gen_15:2. It was the residence of the Syrian kings, during the space of three centuries; and experienced a number of vicissitudes in every period of its history. Its sovereign, Hadad, whom Josephus calls the first of its kings, was conquered by David, king of Israel. In the reign of Ahaz, it was taken by Tiglath Pileser, who slew its last king, Rezin, and added its provinces to the Assyrian empire. It was taken and plundered, also, by Sennacherib, Nebuchadnezzar, the generals of Alexander the Great, Judas Maccabeus, and at length by the Romans in the war conducted by Pompey against Tigranes, in the year before Christ, 65. During the time of the emperors, it was one of the principal arsenals in Asia, and is celebrated by the emperor Julian as, even in his day, “the eye of the whole east.” About the year 634, it was taken by the Saracen princes, who made it the place of their residence, till Bagdad was prepared for their reception; and, after suffering a variety of revolutions, it was taken and destroyed by Tamerlane, A.D. 1400. It was repaired by the Mamelukes, when they gained possession of Syria; but was wrested from them by the Turks, in 1506; and since that period has formed the capital of one of their pachalics. The modern city is delightfully situated about fifty miles from the sea, in a fertile and extensive plain, watered by the river which the Greeks called Chrysorrhoras, or “Golden River,” but which is known by the name of Barrady, and of which the ancient Abana and Pharpar are supposed to have been branches. The city is nearly two miles in length from its north-east to its north-west extremity; but of very inconsiderable breadth, especially near the middle of its extent, where its width is much contracted. It is surrounded by a circular wall, which is strong, though not lofty; but its suburbs are extensive and irregular. Its streets are narrow; and one of them, called Straight, mentioned in Act_9:11, still runs through the city about half a mile in length. The houses, and especially those which front the streets, are very indifferently built, chiefly of mud formed into the shape of bricks, and dried in the sun; but those toward the gardens, and in the squares, present a more handsome appearance. In these mud walls, however, the gates and doors are often adorned with marble portals, carved and inlaid with great beauty and variety; and the inside of the habitation, which is generally a large square court, is ornamented with fragrant trees and marble fountains, and surrounded with splendid apartments, furnished and painted in the highest style of luxury. The market places are well constructed, and adorned with a rich colonnade of variegated marble. The principal public buildings are, the castle, which is about three hundred and forty paces in length; the hospital, a charitable establishment for the reception of strangers, composing a large quadrangle lined with a colonnade, and roofed in small domes covered with lead; and the mosque, the entrance of which is supported by four large columns of red granite; the apartments in it are numerous and magnificent, and the top is covered with a cupola ornamented with two minarets.
Damascus is surrounded by a fruitful and delightful country, forming a plain nearly eighty miles in circumference; and the lands, most adjacent to the city, are formed into gardens of great extent, which are stored with fruit trees of every description. “No place in the world,” says Mr. Maundrell, “can promise to the beholder at a distance a greater voluptuousness;” and he mentions a tradition of the Turks, that their prophet, when approaching Damascus: took his station upon a certain precipice, in order to view the city; and, after considering its ravishing beauty and delightful aspect, was unwilling to tempt his frailty by going farther; but instantly took his departure with this remark, that there was but one paradise designed for man, and that, for his part, he was resolved not to take his in this world. The air or water of Damascus, or both, are supposed to have a powerful effect in curing the leprosy, or, at least, in arresting its progress, while the patient remains in the place.
The Rev. James Conner visited Damascus in 1820, as an agent of the Church Missionary Society. He had a letter from the archbishop of Cyprus to Seraphim, patriarch of Antioch, the head of the Christian church in the east, who resides at Damascus. This good man received Mr. Conner in the most friendly manner; and expressed himself delighted with the systems and operations of the Bible Society. He undertook to encourage and promote, to the utmost of his power, the sale and distribution of the Scriptures throughout the patriarchate; and, as a proof of his earnestness in the cause, he ordered, the next day, a number of letters to be prepared, and sent to his archbishops and bishops, urging them to promote the objects of the Bible Society in their respective stations.
Biblical and Theological Dictionary by Richard Watson
PRINTER 1849.

One of the world’s most ancient cities, Damascus has existed from at least the time of Abraham (Gen_14:15). It is important in the Bible story as capital of the nation Syria, which was much involved in Israel’s affairs from the time of the division of the Israelite kingdom in 930 BC to the conquest of Syria by Assyria in 732 BC. (For the history of Damascus during this period see SYRIA.)
The city of Damascus was on the major trade routes that crossed the region and was an important commercial centre (1Ki_20:34; Eze_27:18). It was also the religious centre of Syria. The ungodly Judean king Ahaz worshipped the Syrian gods there, and built a copy of the Syrian altar in Jerusalem (2Ki_16:10-16; 2Ch_28:22-24).
After Alexander the Great’s conquest in 333 BC, Syria was made into an important province of the eastern part of the Greek Empire. But instead of making Damascus the provincial capital, the new rulers built a new capital at Antioch. With the Roman conquest of 64 BC, Damascus came under the administration of Rome, though for one brief period it was in the hands of an Arab king called Aretas (2Co_11:32-33).
The great persecutor of the early Christians, Paul, was converted to Christianity while on the way to Damascus (Act_9:1-19). There were several Jewish synagogues in the city, and the Jews opposed Paul so violently that he had to escape to save his life (Act_9:20-25). After a period in Arabia, he returned to Damascus (Gal_1:17). It is not known how often Paul visited Damascus, though it is known that on several occasions he visited churches in Syria (Act_15:41; Gal_1:21).
Bridgeway Bible Dictionary by Don Fleming
PRINTER 1990.

da-mas?kus:
1. The Name
2. Situation and Natural Features
3. The City Itself
4. Its History
(1) The Early Period (to circa 950 bc)
(2) The Aramean Kingdom (circa 950-732 bc)
(3) The Middle Period (732 bc-650 ad)
(4) Under Islam
1. Name
The English name is the same as the Greek Δαμασκός, Damaskóš. The Hebrew name is דמּשׂק, Dammeseḳ, but the Aramaic form דּרמשׂק, Darmeseḳ, occurs in 1Ch_18:5; 2Ch_28:5. The name appears in Egyptian inscriptions as Ti-mas-ku (16th century bc), and Sa-ra-mas-ki (13th century bc), which W. M. M?ller, Asien u. Europa, 227, regards as representing Ti-ra-mas-ki, concluding from the ?ra? in this form that Damascus had by that time passed under Aramaic influence. In the Tell el-Amarna Letters the forms Ti-ma-aš-gi and Di-maš-ka occur. The Arabic name is Dimashk esh-Sham (?Damascus of Syria?) usually contrasted to Esh-Sham simply. The meaning of the name Damascus is unknown. Esh-Sham (Syria) means ?the left,? in contrast to the Yemen (Arabia) = ?the right.?
2. Situation and Natural Features
Damascus is situated (33 degrees 30? North latitude, 36 degrees 18? East longitude) in the Northwest corner of the Ghuta, a fertile plain about 2,300 ft. above sea level, West of Mt. Hermon. The part of the Ghuta East of the city is called el-Merj, the ?meadow-land? of Damascus. The river Barada (see ASANA) flows through Damascus and waters the plain, through which the Nahr el-Awaj (see PHARPAR) also flows, a few miles South of the city. Surrounded on three sides by bare hills, and bordered on the East, its open side, by the desert, its well-watered and fertile Ghuta, with its streams and fountains, its fields and orchards, makes a vivid impression on the Arab of the desert. Arabic literature is rich in praises of Damascus, which is described as an earthly paradise. The European or American traveler is apt to feel that these praises are exaggerated, and it is perhaps only in early summer that the beauty of the innumerable fruit trees - apricots, pomegranates, walnuts and many others - justifies enthusiasm. To see Damascus as the Arab sees it, we must approach it, as he does, from the desert. The Barada (Abana) is the life blood of Damascus. Confined in a narrow gorge until close to the city, where it spreads itself in many channels over the plain, only to lose itself a few miles away in the marshes that fringe the desert, its whole strength is expended in making a small area between the hills and the desert really fertile. That is why a city on this site is inevitable and permanent. Damascus, almost defenseless from a military point of view, is the natural mart and factory of inland Syria. In the course of its long history it has more than once enjoyed and lost political supremacy, but in all the vicissitudes of political fortune it has remained the natural harbor of the Syrian desert.
3. The City Itself
Damascus lies along the main stream of the Barada, almost entirely on its south bank. The city is about a mile long (East to West) and about half a mile broad (North to South). On the south side a long suburb, consisting for the most part of a single street, called the Meidan, stretches for a mile beyond the line of the city wall, terminating at the Bawwabet Allah, the ?Gate of God,? the starting-point of the Haj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca. The city has thus roughly the shape of a broad-headed spoon, of which the Meidan is the handle. In the Greek period, a long, colonnaded street ran through the city, doubtless the ?street which is called Straight? (Act_9:11). This street, along the course of which remains of columns have been discovered, runs westward from the Babesh-Sherki, the ?East Gate.? Part of it is still called Derb el-Mustakim (?Straight Street?), but it is not certain that it has borne the name through all the intervening centuries. It runs between the Jewish and Christian quarters (on the left and right, respectively, going west), and terminates in the Suk el-Midhatiyeh, a bazaar built by Midhat Pasha, on the north of which is the main Moslem quarter, in which are the citadel and the Great Mosque. The houses are flat-roofed, and are usually built round a courtyard, in which is a fountain. The streets, with the exception of Straight Street, are mostly narrow and tortuous, but on the west side of the city there are some good covered bazaars. Damascus is not rich in antiquities. The Omayyad Mosque, or Great Mosque, replaced a Christian church, which in its time had taken the place of a pagan temple. The site was doubtless occupied from time immemorial by the chief religious edifice of the city. A small part of the ancient Christian church is still extant. Part of the city wall has been preserved, with a foundation going back to Roman times, surmounted by Arab work. The traditional site of Paul's escape (Act_9:25; 2Co_11:33) and of the House of Naaman (2 Ki 5) are pointed out to the traveler, but the traditions are valueless. The charm of Damascus lies in the life of the bazaars, in the variety of types which may be seen there - the Druse, the Kurd, the Bedouin and many others - and in its historical associations. It has always been a manufacturing city. Our word ?damask? bears witness to the fame of its textile industry, and the ?Damascus blades? of the Crusading period were equally famous; and though Timur (Tamerlane) destroyed the trade in arms in 1399 by carrying away the armorers to Samarcand, Damascus is still a city of busy craftsmen in cloth and wood. Its antiquity casts a spell of romance upon it. After a traceable history of thirty-five centuries it is still a populous and flourishing city, and, in spite of the advent of the railway and even the electric street car, it still preserves the flavor of the East.
4. Its History
(1) The Early Period (to Circa 950 bc)
The origin of Damascus is unknown. Mention has already been made (section 1 ) of the references to the city in Egyptian inscriptions and in the Tell el-Amarna Letters. It appears once - possibly twice - in the history of Abraham. In Gen_14:15 we read that Abraham pursued the four kings as far as Hobah, ?which is on the left hand (i.e. the north) of Damascus.? But this is simply a geographical note which shows only that Damascus was well known at the time when Gen 14 was written. Greater interest attaches to Gen_15:2, where Abraham complains that he is childless and that his heir is ?Dammesek Eliezer? (English Revised Version), for which the Syriac version reads ?Eliezer the Damaschul.? The clause, however, is hopelessly obscure, and it is doubtful whether it contains any reference to Damascus at all. In the time of David Damascus was an Aramean city, which assisted the neighboring Aramean states in their unsuccessful wars against David (2Sa_8:5 f). These campaigns resulted indirectly in the establishment of a powerful Aramean kingdom in Damascus. Rezon, son of Eliada, an officer in the army of Hadadezer, king of Zobah, escaped in the hour of defeat, and became a captain of banditti. Later he established himself in Damascus, and became its king (1Ki_11:23). He cherished a not unnatural animosity against Israel and the rise of a powerful and hostile kingdom in the Israelite frontier was a constant source of anxiety to Solomon (1Ki_11:25).
(2) The Aramean Kingdom (Circa 950-732 bc)
Whether Rezon was himself the founder of a dynasty is not clear. He has been identified with Hezion, father of Tab-rimmon, and grandfather of Ben-hadad (1Ki_15:18), but the identification, though a natural one, is insecure. Ben-hadad (Biridri) is the first king of Damascus, after Rezon, of whom we have any detailed knowledge. The disruption of the Hebrew kingdom afforded the Arameans an opportunity of playing off the rival Hebrew states against each other, and of bestowing their favors now on one, and now on the other. Benhadad was induced by Asa of Judah to accept a large bribe, or tribute, from the Temple treasures, and relieve Asa by attacking the Northern Kingdom (1Ki_15:18). Some years later (circa 880 bc) Ben-hadad (or his successor?) defeated Omri of Israel, annexed several Israelite cities, and secured the right of having Syrian ?streets? (i.e. probably a bazaar for Syrian merchants) in Samaria (1Ki_20:34). Ben-hadad II (according to Winckler the two Ben-hadads are really identical, but this view, though just possible chronologically, conflicts with 1Ki_20:34) was the great antagonist of Ahab. His campaigns against Israel are narrated in 1Ki_20:22. At first successful, he was subsequently twice defeated by Ahab, and after the rout at Aphek was at the mercy of the conqueror, who treated him with generous leniency, claiming only the restoration of the lost Israelite towns, and the right of establishing an Israelite bazaar in Damascus. On the renewal of hostilities three years later Ahab fell before Ramoth-gilead, and his death relieved Ben-hadad of the only neighboring monarch who could ever challenge the superiority of Damascus. Further light is thrown upon the history of Damascus at this time by the Assyrian inscriptions. In 854 bc the Assyrians defeated a coalition of Syrian and Palestine states (including Israel) under the leadership of Ben-hadad at Karḳar. In 849 and 846 bc renewed attacks were made upon Damascus by the Assyrians, who, however, did not effect any considerable conquest. From this date until the fall of the city in 732 bc the power of the Aramean kingdom depended upon the activity or quiescence of Assyria. Hazael, who murdered Ben-hadad and usurped his throne circa 844 bc, was attacked in 842 and 839, but during the next thirty years Assyria made no further advance westward. Hazael was able to devote all his energies to his western neighbors, and Israel suffered severely at his hands. In 803 Mari' of Damascus, who is probably identical with the Ben-hadad of 2Ki_13:3, Hazael's son, was made tributary to Ramman-nirari III of Assyria. This blow weakened Aram, and afforded Jeroboam II of Israel an opportunity of avenging the defeats inflicted upon his country by Hazael. In 773 Assyria again invaded the territory of Damascus. Tiglath-pileser III (745-727 bc) pushed vigorously westward, and in 738 Rezin of Damascus paid tribute. A year or two later he revolted, and attempted in concert with Pekah of Israel, to coerce Judah into joining an anti-Assyrian league (2Ki_15:37; 2Ki_16:5; Isa 7). His punishment was swift and decisive. In 734 the Assyrians advanced and laid siege to Damascus, which fell in 732. Rezin was executed, his kingdom was overthrown, and the city suffered the fate which a few years later befell Samaria.
(3) The Middle Period (Circa 732 bc-650 ad)
Damascus had now lost its political importance, and for more than two centuries we have only one or two inconsiderable references to it. It is mentioned in an inscription of Sargon (722-705 bc) as having taken part in an unsuccessful insurrection along with Hamath and Arpad. There are incidental references to it in Jer_49:23 and Eze_27:18; Eze_47:16. In the Persian period Damascus, if not politically of great importance, was a prosperous city. The overthrow of the Persian empire by Alexander was soon followed (301 bc) by the establishment of the Seleucid kingdom of Syria, with Antioch as its capital, and Damascus lost its position as the chief city of Syria. The center of gravity was moved toward the sea, and the maritime commerce of the Levant became more important than the trade of Damascus with the interior. In 111 bc the Syrian kingdom was divided, and Antiochus Cyzicenus became king of Coele-Syria, with Damascus as his capital. His successors, Demetrius Eucaerus and Antiochus Dionysus, had troubled careers, being involved in domestic conflicts and in wars with the Parthians, with Alexander Janneus of Judea, and with Aretas the Nabatean, who obtained possession of Damascus in 85 bc. Tigranes, being of Armenia, held Syria for some years after this date, but was defeated by the Romans, and in 64 bc Pompey finally annexed the country. The position of Damascus during the first century and a half of Roman rule in Syria is obscure. For a time it was in Roman hands, and from 31 bc-33 ad its coins bear the names of Augustus or Tiberius. Subsequently it was again in the hands of the Nabateans, and was ruled by an ethnarch, or governor, appointed by Aretas, the Nabatean king. This ethnarch adopted a hostile attitude to Paul (2Co_11:32 f) . Later, in the time of Nero, it again became a Roman city. In the early history of Christianity Damascus, as compared with Antioch, played a very minor part. But it is memorable in Christian history on account of its associations with Paul's conversion, and as the scene of his earliest Christian preaching (Acts 9:1-25). All the New Testament references to the city relate to this event (Act_9:1 :25; Act_22:5-11; Act_26:12, Act_26:20; 2Co_11:32 f; Gal_1:17). Afterward, under the early Byzantine emperor, Damascus, though important as an outpost of civilization on the edge of the desert, continued to be second to Antioch both politically and ecclesiastically. It was not until the Arabian conquest (634 ad when it passed out of Christian hands, and reverted to the desert, that it once more became a true capital.
(4) Under Islam
Damascus has now been a Moslem city, or rather a city under Moslem rule, for nearly thirteen centuries. For about a century after 650 ad it was the seat of the Omayyad caliphs, and enjoyed a position of preeminence in the Moslem world. Later it was supplanted by Bagdad, and in the 10th century it came under the rule of the Fatimites of Egypt. Toward the close of the 11th century the Seljuk Turks entered Syria and captured Damascus. In the period of the Crusades the city, though never of decisive importance, played a considerable part, and was for a time the headquarters of Saladin. In 1300 it was plundered by the Tartars, and in 1399 Timur exacted an enormous ransom from it, and carried off its famous armorers, Thus robbing it of one of its most important industries. Finally, in 1516 ad, the Osmanli Turks under Sultan Selim conquered Syria, and Damascus became, and still is, the capital of a province of the Ottoman Empire.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
PRINTER 1915.


Fig. 144?Damascus
Damas?cus, called by the natives Es-Sham, a city of Syria, capital of an important pashalic of the same name, and indeed the chief or capital city of Syria, lies in a plain at the eastern foot of Anti-Libanus. The plain is about 400 stadia from the Mediterranean, and from six to eight days' journey from Jerusalem.
Damascus?by some held to be the most ancient city in the world?is called by the Orientals 'a pearl surrounded by emeralds.' Nothing can be more beautiful than its position, whether approached from the side of Mount Lebanon, from the Desert to the east, or by the high-road from the north from Aleppo and Hamah. For many miles the city is girdled by fertile fields, or gardens, as they are called, which, being watered by rivers and sparkling streams, give to the vegetation, consisting principally of olive-trees, a remarkable freshness and beauty. The plain of Damascus owes its fertility and loveliness to the river Barrada, which is supposed to be either the Abana or Pharpar of 2 Kings 5 [ABANA].
The view of Damascus, when the traveler emerges from Anti-Libanus, is of the most enchanting kind, and the surrounding country presents the appearance of a vast superficies of rich luxuriant foliage. But the interior of the city does not correspond with the exquisite beauty of its environs. In the Armenian quarter the houses are built with mud, and pierced towards the street by a very few small grated windows with red painted shutters. They are low, and the flat arched doors resemble those of stables. A filthy dunghill and a pool of stinking water are almost invariably before the doors. In some of these dwellings, belonging to the principal Armenian merchants, there is great internal richness and elegance. There is a fine wide street, formed by the palaces of the agas of Damascus, who are the nobility of the land. The fronts of these palaces, however, towards the street, are like long prison or hospital walls, mere grey mud walls, with few or no windows, whilst at intervals is a great gate opening on a court. But the interior is magnificent; the saloons being ornamented in the costliest style of Eastern art. The bazaars are very striking. The great bazaar is about half a league long. They are long streets covered in with high wood-work, and lined with shops, stalls, magazines, and cafes. The shops, as in other Eastern towns, are narrow, and go only a short way back. The magazines are stored with merchandise of all sorts, and particularly with Indian manufactures, which are brought in great profusion by the caravans from Bagdad. In the midst of the bazaars stands the finest khan in the East, that of Hassan Pasha, built about fifty years since. It is an immense cupola, whose bold springing arch recalls that of St. Peter at Rome; it is in like manner borne on granite pillars. Not far distant is the principal mosque, formerly a church consecrated to St. John, whose skull and sepulcher, found in this holy place, give it such a sanctity that it is death for even a Mohammedan to enter the room where the relics are kept.
Situated at the edge of the desert, at the mouth of the plains of Coele-Syria and the valleys of Galilee, of Idumaea, and of the coasts of the Sea of Syria, Damascus was needed as a resting-place for the caravans to India. It is essentially a commercial town. Two hundred merchants are permanently settled in it. Foreign trade is carried on by the Great Mecca caravan, the Bagdad caravan, the Aleppo, and by several small ones to Beirut (its sea-port), Tripoli, Acre, etc. Lamartine makes its population to be some 300,000, of whom 30,000 are Christians. Another estimate gives only from 120,000 to 150,000 inhabitants, comprising 12,000 Christians, and as many Jews; and our own information leads us to suspect that even this estimate is too high.
Political changes and social influences have lessened and mitigated the proverbial bigotry of the Damascenes. The lower classes, indeed, are still fanatical, but a better feeling on religion prevails in the higher.
Mr. Addison was conducted to the spot where, according to tradition among the Christians, Saul saw the light from heaven. Winding round the walls on the outskirts of the city, he and his companions came to a point where they were broken at the top, at which Paul is said to have been let down in a basket, to escape the indignation of the Jews, when (Acts 9) 'the disciples took him by night, and let him down by the wall in a basket.' From hence, passing on through some pretty lanes, they came to an open green spot, surrounded by trees, over the tops of which were seen the distant summits of Mount Hermon. At this place they were 'informed Saul had arrived when (Act_9:3) as he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly there shined round about him a great light from heaven.' These localities are pointed out with the greatest confidence by the Damascene Christians of all sects, and are held in great veneration; nor is it difficult to suppose that the true spots have been handed down by tradition among the followers of the cross. 'The street which is called Straight' (Act_9:11) is still found in Damascus, or at any rate a street bearing that name. Addison says it is 'a mile in length,' and 'so called because it leads direct from the gate to the castle or palace of the Pasha.' The house of Judas, also, to which Ananias went, is still pointed out, as well as that of Ananias himself. How much credulity may have had to do in fixing on and perpetuating the recollection of these localities, it is probably easier to suspect than to ascertain.
Of the origin of Damascus nothing certain is known. That the city existed as early as the days of Abraham is clear from Gen_14:15; Gen_15:2; but the way in which it is spoken of in these passages shows that even at the time to which they refer it was not a new nor an unknown place; for Abraham's steward is characterized as being of Damascus, and the locality of another town (Hobah) is fixed by stating that it lay 'on the left hand of Damascus.' How long it may have retained its independence cannot be determined; but it appears (2Sa_8:5-6; 1Ch_19:4) that its monarch having unadvisedly attacked the victorious David, the Hebrew sovereign defeated the Syrians, making a great slaughter of them, and, in his turn, subdued Damascus, and exacted tribute from its inhabitants. This subjection was not of long duration, for under his successor (1Ki_11:24) one Rezon, a servant of Hadadezer, king of Zobah, made himself master of Damascus, and, ruling over Syria, 'was an adversary to Israel all the days of Solomon.' After Rezon, Hezion occupied the throne: he was succeeded by his son Tabrimon (1Ki_15:18-19), who was in alliance with Asa, king of Judah. Preserving the same direct line, the crown then fell to Benhadad, who, having been in a league with Baasha, king of Israel, was bribed by Asa to desert his ally, and join himself in attacking Baasha, on whom the united forces inflicted great injury (1Ki_15:19-20). In the time of Benhadad, son of the preceding monarch, Damascus was the head of a very powerful empire, since it appears (1Ki_20:1) that 'thirty and two kings' (doubtless petty princes or pashas, governors of provinces) accompanied him in a campaign which he undertook against Samaria. The insolent demands of the Syrian king having roused the spirit of Ahab, who was at first disposed to succumb to the great power which he saw arrayed against him, a battle took place, in which the Syrians were defeated, and their king effected his retreat with difficulty. The subsequent operations of the Damascenes, under their king, have already been stated [BENHADAD]. Hazael, the successor of Benhadad, unwilling to give up hope of being master of Ramoth-Gilead, was attacked by the united forces of Judah and Israel, whom he vanquished, wounding Joram (2Ki_8:28); and, at a later period, under Jehu (2Ki_10:32), laid waste a large portion of the Israelitish kingdom, and 'threshed Gilead with threshing instruments of iron' (Amo_1:3). Determined on revenge (2Ki_12:17), Hazael marched to Jerusalem, and was bought off by king Jehoash by a most costly sacrifice. He, however, took the kingdom of Israel (2Ki_13:3), and, though he treated the people oppressively, he was able to hand them over in subjection to his son, Benhadad III, who was thrice beaten (2Ki_13:24) by the Israelitish king Jehoash, and deprived of all his conquests. Jeroboam II (2Ki_14:28) pursued these advantages, and captured Damascus itself. Subsequently a junction took place between Israel and Damascus, when (2Ki_15:37) Rezin, king of the latter, and Pekah, king of the former, entered into a confederacy, and undertook an expedition against Ahaz, king of Judah (Isa_7:1). They succeeded in 'recovering Elath to Syria,' but could not prevail against Jerusalem (2Ki_16:6). Ahaz, however, urged by necessity, applied for aid to Tiglath-pileser, king of Assyria, who, being bribed by a munificent present, fell on Damascus, took it, carried the people of it captive to Kir (on the river Kur), slew Rezin, and united the Damascene territory with his own kingdom (2Ki_16:9; Isa_8:4; Isa_10:9; Isa_17:1). Damascus after this fell under the power of the Babylonians and Persians, from whom it was taken by Alexander the Great, as one consequence of his victory at Issus. Then it made a part of the kingdom of the Seleucidae, from whom it passed into the hands of the Romans. In the time of the Apostle Paul it belonged to the dependent kingdom of the Arabian prince Aretas. At a later period it was reckoned among the cities of Decapolis; then it was added to the province of Phoenice; and at last made a part of the province of Phoenicia Libanesia. From the time of Hadrian it bore the honorary title of Metropolis, without enjoying the rights of a metropolis. Under the Greek emperors of Constantinople Damascus was the most celebrated city of the East, remarkable for its wealth, luxury, magnificence, and its numerous Christian population. A great era in its history is its conquest by the Saracens. The war was begun about A.D. 633, by the celebrated Abubekr, the successor of Mohammed; and ended in the capture of the city, and the substitution of Islamism for Christianity. It then became the capital of the whole Mussulman world, till the Caliphate was removed from it to Bagdad. The city continued under the sway of the caliphs of Bagdad, till it came into the hands of the Turks, and was held and rendered famous by Noureddin and Saladin. In 1301 Timour the Tartar captured the city and barbarously treated its inhabitants. From Josephus it appears that its population contained great numbers of Jews.
Damascus is famous in the first age of Christianity for the conversion and first preaching of the Apostle Paul (Act_9:3; Act_9:20; Gal_1:12). The consequences might have been fatal to the Apostle, for his life was endangered in this fanatical city. 'In Damascus the governor under Aretas, the king, kept the city of the Damascenes with a garrison, desirous to apprehend me; and through a window in a basket was let down by the wall, and escaped his hands' (2Co_11:32-33).
The Popular Cyclopedia of Biblical Literature
by John Kitto.

Damascus
(Heb. Damme'sek, דִּמֶּשֶׂק[sometimes Darme'sek, דִּרְמְשֶׂק, by resolution of the Dagesh, 1Ch_18:5-6; once Dumme'sek, דּוּמֶּשֶׂק, probably by erroneous transcription for the last, 2Ki_16:10], signifying activity [Gesenius, Thes. p. 345 sq.], from its commerce; Arab, Dtimeshk; Gr. Δαμασκός), one of the most ancient, and at all times one of the most important of Oriental cities. It is called by the natives Es-Sham, and is capital of an important pashalic of this latter name, and indeed is the chief or capital city of Syria. It was sometimes spoken of by the ancients as an Arabian city, but in reality it belongs to Syria (Coele-Syria, Strabo 16:756; Ptolemy, v. 15, 22). In 2Sa_8:5-6, “the Syrians of Damascus” are spoken of, and the words “Syria of Damascus” are found in Isa_7:8. It is expressly said, “the head of Syria is Damascus;” also, Isa_17:3, “the kingdom” is to cease “from Damascus;” so that this' place was obviously the metropolis of a Syrian empire. It gave name (Syria Damascena, Plin. Hist. Natural. v. 13) to a district of Syria, which, in 1Ch_19:6, is distinguished as “Syria-Maachah” in the A.V:. The city is even mentioned in the cuneiform inscriptions (q.v.). There has never been any doubt of its identity.
1. Situation. —Damascus occupies the most beautiful site in Syria, or perhaps in all Western Asia. At the eastern base of Anti-Libanus lies a vast plain, having an elevation of about 2200 feet above the level of the sea. It is bounded on the south by the river Awaj, with its branches, which separates it from Ituraea. On the east a little group of conical hills divides it from the great Arabian desert. Its form is triangular, and its area about 500 square miles. Only about one half of this is now inhabited, or indeed habitable; but in richness and beauty this half is unsurpassed. It owes all its advantages to its rivers (2Ki_5:12). The plain is about 400 stadia from the Mediteranean, and from six to eight days' journey from Jerusalem. Its celebrity is of early date. Strabo (xvi, p. 756) speaks of it in eulogistic terms. In a religious point of view, also, its repute was great. Julian (Ep. 24) terms it “the great and sacred Damascus, surpassing every city both in the beauty of its temples and the magnitude of its shrines, as well as the timeliness of its seasons, the limpidness of its fountains, the volume of its waters, and the richness of its soil.” The Abana (q.v.), now called Barada, rising high up on the western flank of Anti-Libanus, forces its way through the chain, running for some time among the mountains, till suddenly it bursts through a narrow cleft upon the open country east of the hills, and diffuses fertility far and wide. “From the edge of the mountain-range,” says a modern traveler, “you look down on the plain of Damascus.
It is here seen in its widest and fullest perfection, with the visible explanation of the whole secret of its great and enduring charm, that which it must have had when it was the solitary seat of civilization in Syria, and which it will have as long as the world lasts. The river is visible at the bottom, with its green banks, rushing through the cleft; it bursts forth, and as if in a moment scatters over the plain, through a circle of thirty miles, the same verdure which had hitherto been confined to its single channel... Far and wide in front extends the level plain, its horizon bare, its lines of surrounding hills bare, all bare far away on the road to Palmyra and Bagdad. In the midst of this plain lies at your feet the vast lake or island of deep verdure, walnuts and apricots waving above, corn and grass below; and in the midst of this mass of foliage rises, striking out its white arms of streets hither and thither, and its white minarets above the trees which embosom them, the city of Damascus. On the right towers the snowy height of Hermon, overlooking the whole scene.
Close behind are the sterile limestone mountains — so that you stand literally between the living and the dead” (Stanley, Palestine, p. 402). Another writer mentions among the produce of the plain in question “walnuts, pomegranates, figs, plums, apricots, citrons, pears, and apples” (Addison's Dam. and Palmyra, 2:92). Olivetrees are also a principal feature of the scene. Besides the main stream of the Barada, which runs directly through the town, supplying its public cisterns, baths, and fountains, a number of branches are given off to the right and to the left, which irrigate the meadows and corn-fields; turning what would otherwise be a desert into a garden. These various streams, although greatly weakened in volume, flow on towards the east for about twenty miles, when they pour their waters into two small and shallow lakes, which lie upon the verge of the desert. Two other streams, the Wady Helbon upon the north, and the Awaj upon the south, which flows direct from Hermon, increase the fertility of the Damascene plain, and contend for' the honor of representing the “Pharpar” (q.v.) of Scripture. The city stands on the banks of the main stream, about two miles distant from, and 500 feet below the pass through which it emerges into the plain. The modern Oriental architecture does not bear close inspection, but when seen from a distance it is singularly imposing. Tapering minarets and swelling domes, tipped with golden crescents, rise up in every direction from the confused mass of white terraced roofs, while in some places their tops gleam like diamonds amid the deep green foliage. In the center of the city stands the great mosque, and near it the massive towers of the castle.
2. History. —According to Josephus (Ant. 1:6) Damascus was founded by Uz, the son of Aram, and grandson of Shem. It is first mentioned in Scripture in connection with Abraham, whose steward was a native of the place (Gen_15:2). We may gather from the name of this person, as well as from the statement of Josephus, which connects the city with the Arammeans, that it was a Shemitic settlement. According to a tradition preserved in the native writer Nicolaus, Abraham staid for some time at Damascus after leaving Charran and before entering the promised land, and during his stay was king of the place. “Abraham's name was,” he. says, “even in his own day, familiar in the mouths of the Damascenes, and a village was shown where he dwelt, which was called after him” (Fragm. 30). This last circumstance would seem, however, to conflict with the notion of Abraham having been king, since in that case he would have dwelt in the capital. In the village of Buzeh, three miles north of the city, is a highly venerated shrine, called for the last eight centuries “the house of Abraham.” (On these fables, see Julian, Epist. 24, p. 392; Cellarii Notitice, 2:442 sq.; Mannert, VI, 1:407 sq.; Justin, 36:2; Isidorus, Origg. 15:1; D'Herbelot, Biblioth. Or. 1:70.) SEE ABRAHAM.
Nothing more is known of Damascus until the time of David, when “the Syrians of Damascus came to succor Hadadezer, king of Zobah,” with whom David was at war (2Sa_8:5; 1Ch_18:5). On' this occasion David “slew of the Syrians 22,000 men,” and in consequence of this victory became completely master of the whole territory, which he garrisoned with Israelites. “David put garrisons in Syria of Damascus; and the Syrians became servants to David, and brought gifts” (2Sa_8:6). Nicolaiis of Damascus said that the name of the king who reigned at this time was Hadad; and he ascribes to him a dominion not only over Damascus, but “over all Syria except Phoenicia” (Fragm. 31). He noticed his attack upon David, and related that many battles were fought between them, the last, wherein he suffered defeat, being “‘upon the Euphrates.” According to this writer, Hadad the first was succeeded by a son, who took the same name, as did his descendants for ten generations. But this is irreconcilable with Scripture (see Miller, Origo regni Damasc. Lips. 1714; also in Ikenii Thesaur. 1:721 sq.). It appears that in the reign of Solomon a certain Rezon, who had been a subject of Hadadezer, king of Zobah, and had escaped when David conquered Zobah, made himself master of Damascus, and established his own rule there (1Ki_11:23-25). He was “an adversary to Israel all the days of Solomon... and he abhorred Israel, and reigned over Syria” (Joseph. Ant. 8:7, 6). Afterwards the family of Hadad appears to have recovered the throne, and a Benhadad, who is probably Hadad III of Nicolaus, a grandson of the antagonist of David, is found in league with Baasha, king of Israel, against Asa (1Ki_15:19; 2Ch_16:3), and afterwards in league with Asa against Baasha (1Ki_15:20). He made a successful invasion of the Israelitish territory in the reign of that king; and in the reign of Omnri he not only captured a number of Israelitish cities, which he added to his own dominions, but even seems to have exercised a species of lordship over Samaria itself, in which he acquired the right of “making himself streets” (1Ki_20:34; comp. Nic. D. Fragm. 31, ad fin.).
He was succeeded by his son, Hadad IV (the Benhadad II of Scripture, and the Ben-idri of the Assyrian inscriptions), who came at the head of thirty-two subject kings against Ahab, and laid siege to Samaria (1Ki_20:1). The attack was unsuccessful, and was followed by wars, in which victory declared itself unmistakably on the side of the Israelites; and at last Benhadad was taken prisoner, and forced to submit to a treaty whereby he gave up all that his father had gained, and submitted in his turn to the suzerainty of Ahab (1Ki_20:13-34). The terms of the treaty were perhaps not observed. At any rate, three years afterwards war broke out afresh, through the claim of Ahab to the city of Ramoth-Gilead (1Ki_22:1-4). The defeat and death of Ahab at that place (ib. 15-37) seems to have enabled the Syrians of Damascus to resume the offensive. Their bands ravaged the lands of Israel during the reign of Jehoram; and they even undertook at this time a second siege of Samaria, which was frustrated miraculously (2Ki_6:24; 2Ki_7:6-7). After this, we do not hear of any more attempts against the Israelitish capital. The cuneiform inscriptions show that towards the close of his reign Benhadad was exposed to the assaults of a great conqueror, who was bent on extending the dominion of Assyria over Syria and Palestine. Three several attacks appear to have been made by this prince upon Benhadad, who, though he had the support of the Phoenicians, the Hittites, and the Hamathites, was unable to offer any effectual opposition to the Assyrian arms. His troops were worsted in several engagements, and in one of them he lost as many as 20,000 men. It may have been these circumstances which encouraged Hazael, the servant of Benhadad, to murder him and seize the throne, which Elisha had declared would certainly one day be his (2Ki_8:15). He may have thought that the Syrians would willingly acquiesce in the removal of a ruler tinder whom they had suffered so many disasters. The change of rulers was not at first productive of any advantage to the Syrians. Shortly after the accession of Hazael (about B.C. 884), he was in his turn attacked by the Assyrians, who defeated him with great loss amid the fastnesses of Anti-Libanus. However, in his other wars he was more fortunate. He repulsed an attack on Ramoth-Gilead, made by Ahaziah, king of Judah, and Jehoram, king of Israel, in conjunction (2Ki_8:28-29); ravaged the whole Israelitish territory east of Jordan (2Ki_10:32-33), besieged and took Gath (2Ki_12:17; compare Amo_6:2); threatened Jerusalem, which only escaped by paying a heavy ransom (2Ki_12:18); and established a species of suzerainty over Israel, which he maintained to the day of his death, and handed down to Benhadad, his son (2Ki_13:3-7; 2Ki_13:22). This prince, in the earlier part of his reign, had the same good fortune as his father. Like him, he “oppressed Israel,” and added various cities of the Israelites to his own dominion (2Ki_13:25); but at last a deliverer appeared (2Ki_13:5), and Joash, the son of Jehoahaz, ‘beat Hazael thrice, and recovered the cities of Israel” (2Ki_13:25). In the next reign still further advantages were gained by the Israelites. Jeroboam II (B.C. cir. 836) is said to have “recovered Damascus” (2Ki_14:28), and though this may not mean that he captured the city, it at least implies that he obtained a certain influence over it. The mention of this circumstance is followed by a long pause, during which we hear nothing of the Syrians, and must therefore conclude that their relations with the Israelites continued peaceable. SEE BENHADAD.
When they reappear, nearly a century later (B.C. cir. 742), it is as allies of Israel against Judah (2Ki_15:37). We may suspect that the chief cause of the union now established between two powers which had been so long hostile was the necessity of combining to resist the Assyrians, who at the time were steadily pursuing a policy of encroachment in this quarter. Scripture mentions the invasions of Pul (2Ki_15:19; 1Ch_5:26), and Tiglath-Pileser (2Ki_15:29; 1Ch_5:26); and there is reason to believe that almost every Assyrian monarch of the period made war in this direction. It seems to have been during a pause in the struggle that Rezin, king of Damascus, and Pekah, king of Israel, resolved conjointly to attack Jerusalem, intending to depose Ahaz and set up as king a creature of their own (Isa_7:1-6; 2Ki_16:5). Ahaz may have already been suspected of a friendly feeling towards Assyria, or the object may simply have been to consolidate a power capable of effectually opposing the arms of that country. In either case the attempt signally failed, and only brought about more rapidly the evil against which the two kings wished to guard. Jerusalem successfully maintained itself against the combined attack; but Elath, which had formerly been built by Azariah, king of Judah, in territory regarded as Syrian (2Ki_14:22), having been taken and retained by Rezin (2Ki_16:6), Ahaz was induced to throw himself into the arms of Tiglath-Pileser, to ask aid from him, and to accept voluntarily the position of an Assyrian feudatory (2Ki_16:7-8). The aid sought was given, with the important result that Rezin was slain, the kingdom of Damascus brought to an end, and the city itself destroyed, the inhabitants being carried captive into Assyria (ib. 2Ki_16:9; comp. Isa_7:8, and Amo_1:5). Among the sculptures lately discovered on the site of Nineveh are thought to be delineations of this siege and capture of Damascus. Rawlinson even reads the name of the city on an obelisk connected with them (Bonomi, Nineveh. p. 234 sq.). Assyrian remains have lately been discovered in a mound near Damascus (Journal of Sacred Literature, October. 1854, p. 218; January, 1855, p. 469). SEE ASSYRIA.
It was long before Damascus recovered from this serious blow. As Isaiah and Amos had prophesied in the day of her prosperity that Damascus should be “taken away from being a city and be a ruinous heap” (Isa_17:1), that “a fire should be sent into the house of Hazael which should devour the palaces of Benhadad” (Amo_1:4), so Jeremiah, writing about B.C. 600, declares “Damascus is waxed feeble and turneth herself to flee, and fear hath seized on her; anguish and sorrows have taken. her as a woman in travail. How is the city of praise not left, the city of my joy!” (Jer_49:24-25). Damascus remained a province of Assyria until the capture of Nineveh by the Medes (B.C. 625), when it submitted to the conquerors. Its Wealth and commercial prosperity appear to have declined for a considerable period, probably on account of the ravages of Tiglath- Pileser, and the captivity of the most influential and enterprising of its people. The city was afterwards held in succession by the Egyptians, Babylonians, and Persians. We have no particulars of its history for a period of three centuries. Under the rule of the Persians it was the capital of the province of Syria, and the residence of the satrap.
We do not know at what time Damascus was rebuilt, but Strabo says that it was the most famous place in Syria during the Persian period (xvi. 2, § 19). When Darius, the last king of Persia, made his great effort to repress the rising power, and bar the progress of Alexander of Macedon, it was in this city he deposited his family and treasures (Arrian, Exp. Al. 2:11). The fate of Damascus, with that of all Western Asia, was decided by the battle of Issus, in which the Persian army was almost annihilated. Damascus now became the capital of a province which Alexander gave to his general Laomedon (Plut. Vit. Alexandri). During the long wars which raged between the Seleucide and the Ptolemies, Damascus had no separate history: it sometimes fell to the one, and sometimes to the other. Antioch was founded, and became their favorite residence, and the capital of the Seleucidae; but when the Syrian kingdom was divided in B.C. 126, Damascus was made the second capital. Its territory embraced Coele-Syria, Phoenicia, and the country east of the Jordan, and it was afterwards governed in succession by four princes of the family of Seleucus. Damascus and Antioch thus became the seats of rival factions, and aspirants after complete sovereignty (Joseph. Ant. 13:13, 4, and 15, 1). The last of these princes, Antiochus Dionysus, was killed in battle against Aretas, king of Arabia, and the Damascenes forthwith elected Aretas his successor (Josephus, Ant. 13:15,1), B.C. 84. In the year B.C. 64, the Romans, under Pompey, invaded and captured Syria, constituted it a province of the empire, and made Damascus the seat of government (ib. 14:2, 3, and 4, 5; Mos. Choren. 1:14; Appian, Bell. Mithrid. p. 224). From Josephus (War, 1:2; 25:2; 20:2; comp. Act_9:2) it appears that its population contained great numbers of Jews.
For twenty years Damascus continued to be the residence of the Roman procurators. The city prospered under their firm and equitable rule, and even after their removal to Antioch did not decline. Strabo, who flourished at this period, describes it as one of the most magnificent cities of the East. Nicolaus, the famous historian and philosopher, the friend of Herod the Great and Augustus, was now one of its citizens (Strabo, Geogr. xvi; Josephus, Ant. 16:10, 8). But the strong arm of Rome was not sufficient to quell the fiery spirit of the Syrians. The whole country was rent into factions, and embroiled by the unceasing rivalries and wars of petty princes. About the year A.D. 37, a family quarrel led to a war between Aretas, king of Arabia, and Herod Antipas. The Roman governor, Vitellius, was instructed to interfere in favor of the latter; but when he was ready to attack Aretas, who had already driven back Herod, news arrived of the death of the emperor Tiberius. The government of Syria was thus thrown into confusion, and Vitellius returned to Antioch (Joseph. Ant. 18:5, 1-3). It appears that now Aretas, taking advantage of the state of affairs, followed up his successes, advanced upon Damascus, and seized the city. It was during his brief rule (or some earlier one) that Paul visited Damascus on his return from Arabia (Gal_1:16-17). SEE ARETAS.
His zeal as a missionary, and the energy with which he opposed every form of idolatry, had probably attracted the notice and excited the enmity of Aretas; and consequently, when informed by the Jews that the apostle had returned to the city, he was anxious to secure him, and gave orders to the governor to watch the gates day and night for that purpose (Act_9:24; 2Co_11:32. See Neander, Planting and Training of the Christian Church, 1:106). The Romans adorned Damascus with many splendid buildings, the ruins of which still exist. Some of them were probably designed by Apollodorus, a native of the city, and one of the most celebrated architects of his age, to whose genius we are indebted for one of the most beautiful monuments of ancient Rome, the Column of Trajan (Dion Cass. lxix). A little later it was reckoned to Decapolis (Plin. Hist. Nat. v. 16), after which it became a part of the province known as Phcenicia-Libanesia (Hierocl. Synecd. p. 717).
Christianity was planted in Damascus by Paul himself (Act_9:20 sq.; Gal_1:12), and obtained a firm footing in the apostolic age. It spread so rapidly among the population that in the time of Constantine the great temple, one of the noblest buildings in Syria, was converted into a cathedral church and dedicated to John the Baptist. When the first general council assembled at Nice, Magnus, the metropolitan of Damascus, was present with seven of his suffragans. But the Roman empire was now waxing feeble, and the religion which, by its establishment as a national institute, ought to have infused the germ of a new life into the declining state, was itself losing its purity and its power. Damascus felt, like other places, the demoralizing tendencies of a corrupt faith. In the beginning of the 7th century a new and terrible power appeared upon the stage of the world's history, destined, in the hands of an all-wise though mysterious Providence, to overthrow a degenerate empire and chastise an erring Church. In A.D. 634 Damascus opened its gates to the Mohammedans, and thirty years later the first caliph of the Omeiades transferred the seat of his government to that city. It now became for a brief period the capital of a- vast empire, including Syria, Mesopotamia, Persia, Northern Africa, and Spain (Elmacin, Hist. Sarac. xiii). In A.D. 750 the Omeiades were supplanted by the dynasty of Abbas, and the court was removed to Bagdad. A stormy period of four centuries now passed over the old city without leaving a single incident worthy of special note. An attack of the Crusaders (A.D. 1148), under the three chiefs, Baldwin, Conrad, and Louis VII, might have claimed a place here had it not been so disgraceful to the Christian arms. It is enough to say that the cross never displaced the crescent on the battlements of Damascus. The reigns of Nureddin and his more distinguished successor Saladin form bright epochs-in the city's history. Two centuries later came Timur, who literally swept Damascus with “the besom Of destruction.” Arab writers sometimes call him elWahsh, “the wild beast,” and he fully earned that name. Never had Damascus so fearfully experienced the horrors of conquest. Its wealth, its famed manufactures, and its well-filled libraries, were all dissipated in a single day. It soon regained its opulence. A century later it fell into the hands of the Turks, and, with the exception of the brief rule of Ibrahim Pasha, it has ever since remained nominally subject to the sultan.
The Mohammedan population of Damascus have long been known as the greatest fanatics in the East. The steady advance of the Christian community in wealth and influence during the last thirty years has tended to excite their bitter enmity. In July, 1860, taking advantage of the war between the Druses and Maronites, and encouraged also by the Turkish authorities, they suddenly rose against the poor defenseless Christians, massacred about 6000 of them in cold blood, and left their whole quarter in ashes! Such is the last act in the long history of Damascus. (There is a work by Pieritz on the Persecution of the Jews at Damascus, Lond. 1840.) Damascus is still the largest city in Asiatic Turkey. It contained in 1859 a population of about 150,000. Of these, 6000 were Jews and 15,000 Christians. The Christian community has since been almost exterminated by the above massacre of the greater portion of the males. The pasha ranks with the first officers of the empire, and the city is the head-quarters of the Syrian army.
3. Commerce. —Damascus has always been a great center for trade. The difficulties and dangers of the mountain passes to the west of Anti-Libanus made the line of traffic between Egypt and Upper Syria follow the circuitous route by Damascus rather than the direct one through Coele- Syria, while the trade of Tyre with Assyria and the East generally passed naturally through Damascus on its way to Palmyra and the Euphrates. Ezekiel, speaking of Tyre, says, “Damascus was thy merchant in the multitude of the wares of thy making, for the multitude of all riches; in the wine of Helbon and white wool.” It would appear from this that Damascus took manufactured goods from the Phoenicians, and supplied them in exchange with wool and wine. The former would be produced in abundance in Coele-Syria and the valleys of the Anti-Libanus range, while the latter seems to have been grown in the vicinity of HELBON, a village still famous for the produce of its vines, ten or twelve miles from Damascus to the north-west (Geograph. Jour. 26:44). But the passage- trade of Damascus has probably been at all times more important than its direct commerce. Its merchants must have profited largely by the caravans which continually passed through it on their way to distant countries. It is uncertain whether in early times it had any important manufactures of its own. According to some expositors, the passage in Amo_3:12, which we translate “in Damascus on a couch” (וּבִדְמֶשֶׂק עֶרֶשׂ), means really “on the damask couch,” which would indicate that the Syrian city had become famous for a textile fabric as early as the eighth century B.C. There is no doubt that such a fabric gave rise to our own word, which has its counterpart in Arabic as well as in most of the languages of modern Europe; but it is questionable whether either this, or the peculiar method of working in steel, which has impressed itself in a similar way upon the speech of the world, was invented by the Damascenes before the Mohammedan era. In ancient times they were probably rather a consuming than a producing people, as the passage in Ezekiel clearly indicates. It afterwards became famous for its sword-blades and cutlery; but its best workmen were carried off by Timur to Ispahan. Its chief manufactures are, at present, silks, coarse woolen stuffs, cottons, gold and silver ornaments, and arms. The bazaars are stocked with the products of nearly all nations — Indian muslins, Manchester prints, Persian carpets, Lyons' silks, Birmingham cutlery, Cashmere shawls, Mocha coffee, and Dutch sugar.
4. Topography, Antiquities, etc, — The old city, the nucleus of Damascus, stands on the south bank of the river, and is surrounded by a tottering wall, the foundations of which are Roman, and the superstructure a patchwork of all succeeding ages. It is of an irregular oval form. Its greatest diameter is marked by the “street called Straight,” which intersects it from east to west, and is about a mile long. This street was anciently divided into three avenues by Corinthian colonnades, and at each end were triple Roman gateways, still in a great measure entire. In the old city were the Christian and Jewish quarters, and the principal buildings and bazaars. On the north, west, and south are extensive suburbs. The internal aspect of the city is not prepossessing, and great is the disappointment of the stranger when he leaves the delicious environs and enters the gates. Without, nature smiles joyously, the orchards seem to blush at their own beauty, and the breeze is laden with perfumes. Within, all is different. The works of man show sad signs of neglect and decay. The houses are rudely built; the lanes are paved with big rough stones, and partially roofed with ragged mats and withered branches; long-bearded, fanatical-visaged men squat in rows on dirty stalls, telling their beads, and mingling, with muttered prayers to Allah and his prophet, curses deep and terrible on all infidels. The bazaars are among the best in the East. SEE BAZAAR.
They are narrow covered lanes, with long ranges of open stalls on each side; in these their owners sit as stiff and statue-like as if they had been placed there for show. SEE MERCHANT.
Each trade has its own quarter. Every group in the bazaars would form a lively picture. All the costumes of Asia are there, strangely grouped with panniered donkeys, gayly-caparisoned mules, and dreamy-looking camels. The principal khans or caravansaries are spacious buildings. They are now used as stores and shops for the principal merchants. The great khan, Assad Pasha, is among the finest in Turkey. A noble Saracenic portal opens on a large quadrangle, ornamented with a marble fountain, and covered by a series of domes supported on square pillars. Many of the mosques are fine specimens of Saracenic architecture. Their deeply-moulded gateways are very beautiful, and the interlaced stone-work around doors and windows is unique. They are mostly built of alternate layers of white and black stone, with string courses of marble arranged in chaste patterns. But they are all badly kept, and many of them are now ruinous. The private houses of Damascus share, with the plain, the admiration of all visitors. No contrast could be greater than that between the outside and inside. The rough mud-walls and mean doors give poor promise of taste or beauty within. The entrance is always through a narrow winding passage- sometimes even a stable-yard-to the “outer court,” where the master has his reception-room, and to which alone male visitors are admitted. Another winding passage leads to the haren (q.v.), which is the principal part of the house. Here is a spacious court, with tesselated pavement, a marble basin in the center, jets d'eau around it, orange, lemon, and citron trees, flowering shrubs. jessamines and vines trained over trellis-work for shade. The rooms all open on this court, intercowrmunication between room and room being almost unknown. On the south side is an open alcove, with marble floor and cushioned dais. The decorations of some of the rooms is gorgeous. The wails of the older houses are wainscoted, carved, and gilt, and the ceilings are covered with arabesque ornaments. In the new houses painting and marble fretwork are taking the place of arabesque and wainscoting.
The principal building of Damascus is the Great Mosque, the domes and minarets of which are everywhere conspicuous. It occupies one side of a large quadrangular court, flagged with marble, arranged in patterns, and ornamented with some beautiful fountains. Within the mosque are double ranges of Corinthian columns supporting the roof, in the style of the old basilicas. The walls were once covered with Mosaic, representing the holy places of Islam; but this is nearly all gone. In the center is a spacious dome. The building was anciently a temple, with a large cloistered court, like the Temple of the Sun at Palmyra. In the time of Constantine it was made a church and dedicated to John the Baptist, whose head was said to be deposited in a silver casket in one of the crypts. In the 7th century the Moslems took possession of it, and it has since remained the most venerated of their mosques. It is a singular fact, however, that though it has now been for twelve centuries in possession of the enemies of our faith, though during the whole of that period no Christian has ever been permitted to enter its precincts, yet over its principal door is an inscription embodying one of the grandest and most cheering of Christian truths (Psa_145:13).
The Castle is a large quadrangular structure, with high walls and massive flanking towers. It is now a mere shell, the whole interior being a heap of ruins. The foundations are at least as old as the Roman age. It stands at the north-west angle of the ancient wall.
The traditionary sacred places of Damascus are the following: A “long, wide thoroughfare” — leading direct from one of the gates to the castle or palace of the pasha — is “called by the guides ‘Straight'“ (Act_9:11); but the natives know it among themselves as “the Street of Bazaars” (Stanley, p. 404). The house of Judas is shown, but it is not in the street “Straight” (Pococke, 2:119). That of Ananias is also pointed out. The scene of the conversion is confidently said to be “an open green spot, surrounded by trees,” and used as the Christian burial-ground; but this spot is on the eastern side of the city, whereas Paul must have approached from the south or west. Again it appears to be certain that “four distinct spots have been pointed out at different times” (Stanley, p. 403) as the place where the “great light suddenly shined from heaven” (Act_9:3). The point of the walls at which St. Paul was let down by a basket (Act_9:25; 2Co_11:33) is also shown; and it. is a fact that houses are still constructed in Damascus in like manner overhanging the wall. In the vicinity of Damascus certain places are shown traditionally connected with the prophet Elisha; but these local legends are necessarily even more doubtful than those which have reference to the comparatively recent age of the apostles. There are even spots pointed out as the scene of events in the life of Abraham (Stanley, p. 404).
The climate of Damascus is healthful except during July, August, and September, when fevers and opthalmia are prevalent, engendered by filth and unwholesome food. The thermometer ranges from 80° to 87° Fahr. during the summer, and seldom falls below 45° in winter. There is usually a little snow each year. The rain begins about the middle of October, and continues at intervals till May. The rest of the year is dry and cloudless.
A full description of Damascus, with notices, plans, and drawings, is given in Porter's Five Years in Damascus (Lond. 1855, 2 vols. 8vo); and in the JOUR. SAC. LIT. July, 1853, p. 245 sq.; Oct. 1853, p. 45 sq.; see also Addison's Damascus and Palmyra (ii. 92-196); Walch, Antiquitates Damasc. illustrate (Jen. 1757 [a copious treatise, giving all facts known in his day]; also in his Acta Apostol. 2:31 sq.); Kelly, Syria (chap. xv), and travelers in Palestine generally. SEE SYRIA.

CYCLOPEDIA OF BIBLICAL, THEOLOGICAL AND ECCLESIASTICAL
press 1895.

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